Ocean Aviation broke ground on Wednesday on a new $67 million private aviation campus at Miami Executive Airport, converting 40 acres of previously undeveloped airport land into what the company calls a state-of-the-art hub for corporate and luxury air travel. The project, backed by Kennedy Lewis Investment Management, is expected to generate roughly 2,900 construction jobs and 250 permanent positions once it is up and running.
According to Miami-Dade Aviation Department, the campus is planned to include up to 400,000 square feet of hangar space split between communal and private configurations, along with a fuel farm, a fixed-base operator facility and a 32,000-square-foot common-use taxi lane and ramp that will serve U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The buildout will also include the relocation of the Wings Over Miami Air Museum, which preserves and displays historic aircraft and aviation artifacts while supporting aviation education, per the agency.
A Growing Footprint for Ocean Aviation
Ocean Aviation was established in 2024 through a 40-year, 40-acre ground lease at Miami Executive Airport, the same site now hosting the new campus, according to Corporate Jet Investor. The company has since expanded beyond Miami-Dade: last month it acquired National Jets, a fixed-base operator at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport with more than 60 years of history. The outlet reports that National Jets will continue to operate under its established name, with no changes for existing tenants, clients and staff.
Plans for the Fort Lauderdale site call for a large communal hangar, two private hangars, an FBO terminal with executive offices and a new fuel farm, with the expanded facility projected to exceed 150,000 square feet of hangar capacity, the same report notes. Together with the Miami Executive groundbreaking, the moves give Ocean Aviation a presence at both ends of what the article describes as a dual-airport network serving the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro.
Who’s Building It, and Who Said What
The Miami Executive project will be delivered through a design-build model led by Lemartec, with Schenkel Shultz serving as the design partner, according to Airport Improvement. A separate account from ConnectCRE offers a conflicting version, reporting that Arquitectonica will design the new aviation campus while Lemartec serves as general contractor…